Business and Industry: Terms and Concepts

In law, settlement of the liabilities of a person or organization wholly or partially unable to meet financial obligations.

In finance, usually a formal certificate of indebtedness issued in writing by governments or business corporations in return for loans. It bears interest and promises to pay a certain sum of money to the holder after a definite period, usually 10 to 20 years.

The economic system now prevalent in most countries of the world. Based on the accumulation of private wealth (capital).

National or international organization of manufacturers or traders allied by agreement to fix prices, limit supply, divide markets, or to fix quotas for sales, manufacture, or division of profits among the member firms.

Financial institution designed to regulate and control the money supply of a nation, with the goal of fostering economic growth without inflation. Although central banking systems have varying levels of autonomy, there is generally a significant level of government control.

In law, a promise, enforceable by law, to perform or to refrain from performing some specified act. In a general sense, all civil obligations fall under tort or contract law.

Right granted by statute to the author or originator of certain literary, artistic, and musical productions whereby for a limited period of time he or she controls the use of the product.

In law, organization enjoying legal personality for the purpose of carrying on certain activities. Most corporations are businesses for profit; they are usually organized by three or more subscribers who raise capital for the corporate activities by selling shares of stock.

Granting of goods, services, or money in return for a promise of future payment. Most credit is accompanied by an interest charge, which usually makes the future payment greater than an immediate payment would have been.

Something that is owed by a person, organization, or country, usually money, goods, or services. Debt usually occurs as a result of borrowing credit.

Prohibition by a country of the departure of ships or certain types of goods from its ports.

Assessment levied upon individual or corporate incomes. MORE

Charge for the use of credit or money, usually figured as a percentage of the principal and computed annually.

Legislation dealing with human beings in their capacity as workers or wage earners. MORE

In law, an obligation of one party to another, usually to compensate financially.

Term that actually refers to two concepts: the abstract unit of account in terms of which the value of goods, services, and obligations can be compared; and anything that is widely established as a means of payment.

In law, governmental grant of some privilege, property, or authority. Today patent refers to the granting to the inventor of a useful product or process the privilege to exclude others from making that invention.

Activities and policies used to create public interest in a person, idea, product, institution, or business establishment.

Type of financial institution that was originally created to accept savings from private investors and to provide home mortgage services for the public.

Organized market for the trading of stocks and bonds (see bond; stock).

Tax on imported and, more rarely, exported goods. It is also called a customs duty.

Organization of workers that exists to promote and defend the interests of its members, to achieve improved working conditions, and to undertake collective bargaining (negotiating on behalf of its members) with employers.

Traffic in goods. Conducted by gift, barter, or sale, trade is one of the most widespread of all social institutions.

Central banking system of the United States. Established in 1913, it began to operate in Nov., 1914. Its setup, although somewhat altered since its establishment, particularly by the Banking Act of 1935, has remained substantially the same.

(IMF), specialized agency of the United Nations, established in 1945. The organization, using a fund subscribed by the member nations, purchases foreign currencies on application from its members so as to discharge international indebtedness and stabilize exchange rates.

Specialized, rules-based, member-driven agency of the United Nations, world trade monitoring body established in January 1995, on approval of the Final Act of the Uruguay round of the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade (GATT)

Central bank and note-issuing institution of Great Britain. Popularly known as the Old Lady of Threadneedle Street, its main office stands on the street of that name in London.

(OPEC), multinational organization (est. 1960, formally constituted 1961) that coordinates petroleum policies and economic aid among oil-producing nations.

Classification, analysis, and interpretation of the financial, or bookkeeping, records of an enterprise.

Any of various methods used by a company to increase the sales of its products or services or to promote a brand name.

Primarily the business of dealing in money and instruments of credit. Banks were traditionally differentiated from other financial institutions by their principal functions of accepting deposits—subject to withdrawal or transfer by check—and of making loans.

In economics, that part of the process of production and exchange that is concerned with the flow of goods and services from producer to consumer. In popular usage it is defined as the distribution and sale of goods, distribution being understood in a broader sense than the technical economic one.

Organized traders' exchange in which standardized, graded products are bought and sold. Worldwide, there are 48 major commodity exchanges that trade over 96 commodities, ranging from wheat and cotton to silver and oil.

Device used to obtain consumer credit at the time of purchasing an article or service. Credit cards may be issued by a business, such as a department store or an oil company, to make it easier for consumers to buy their products.

The process of scrambling stored or transmitted information so that it is unintelligible until it is unscrambled by the intended recipient [...] It is also now used increasingly by the financial industry to protect money transfers, by merchants to protect credit-card information in electronic commerce, and by corporations to secure sensitive communications of proprietary information.

Commerce conducted over the Internet, most often via the World Wide Web. E-commerce can apply to purchases made through the Web or to business-to-business activities such as inventory transfers.

In modern usage, trade or commerce carried on without such restrictions as import duties, export bounties, domestic production subsidies, trade quotas, or import licenses.

Process by which different parts of the globe become interconnected by economic, social, cultural, and political means.

Company or enterprise operating in several countries, usually defined as one that has 25% or more of its output capacity located outside its country of origin.

Small device that resembles a credit card but contains an embedded microprocessor to store and process information. Magnetic-stripe cards, which store a very small amount of information (most typically used to identify the owner) and have no processing capability of their own, can be thought of as primitive smart cards.